To combat the looming power shortage stemming from low coal stocks, states such as Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan are looking to rope in stranded power assets to ensure uninterrupted supplies and seeking capital support from the Centre to buy expensive spot power and pay coal companies. Some states have already started resorting to power cuts during non-peak hours.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to take steps such as increasing coal supplies to the state’s power plants and starting operations of pit-head power plants, which are under corporate insolvency resolution process “regardless of the stage of the proceedings at NCLT”. He also requested for gas supply from the Reliance-BP and ONGC deep-water wells off the eastern coast to the stranded gas-based power plants with capacity of 2,300 MW in the state. Reddy further requested Modi to instruct banks to “provide working capital loans liberally to discoms till the crisis is tided over in order to make coal payments and undertake market purchases”.
